You can certainly smell (and taste) the cinnamon, and the combination of flavours is…different. It’s powerful, and I feel almost like I need to try this again before I decide if I like it or not, because on my first go around it almost felt like there was just too much going on flavour-wise for me to pay attention to the richness or enjoyment of the tea. I thought there was some…mint involved somewhere— I find it a bit odd there isn’t.

It’s been positively ages since I’ve written any reviews and my cupboards are still stocked to overflowing with tea so I thought I might as well get back into it. Few things I like better than writing about tea anyway!

This, I think is the Chamomile tea for anyone who has ever decided they hate Chamomile tea. The supple mango and the light honey cloverish taste to the tea blends in nicely with the Chamomile and somewhat cuts the overpowering taste the flower has when it’s brewed by itself.

I had this tea with milk and a sugar cube because it seems to be, more or less, a must with this kind of a tea and adds to the overall icing feel that it’s going for.

Preparation

This tea is hardcore. Honestly, it beats up other teas in back alleys and consumes their strength, adding it to its own. If you steep one of these bad boy teabags for a while, it’s almost like drinking a cup of coffee. It means series business and I love it.

I LOVE IT.

I picked up a box from a British import store when I was visiting my parents in Ontario over Easter, and I’m really considering making them send me more because this tea has become my best friend and confidant.

It’s a strong, standard black tea, and I was surprised that I liked it so much because I’m usually wary of teas that come in bags with an undetermined sitting-on-store-shelf time. But this was fresh tasting, with full, fresh, punch-in-the-face flavour.

If you drink one tea this summer, drink this one.

Preparation

..This is a white tea? I examined the tea bag before I steeped and saw a whole lotta stuff in it, but nothing that struck me as looking like anything but Japanese green (it looks like cut grass). So maybe there was some sort of white tea ritual where they have workers wave small bushels of white over the tea as it’s being mixed? Sort of like a sage burning ceremony?

This tea might as well be herbal! Ugh! I’d rate it lower, but the taste is actually pretty good so I’ll cut it a little slack (but I’m not happy).

The tea tea would make excellent potpourri though, it smells very nice.

Whenever I rate Earl Grey teas, I’m always torn because I have a very clear idea of what an Earl Grey tea should be, and if a tea deviates from that too much, I have a difficult time rating it high because it isn’t what I asked for.

If I ask you to draw me a damn circle, draw a circle! I don’t care if you draw me the best triangle in the world—it isn’t a circle!

When I opened the bag, I was impressed! It certainly smelled like bergamot, so I was expecting a pretty traditional Earl Grey flavour which is exactly what I needed to make getting up in the morning a little easier…

…but this tea tastes like…flowers? I’m not sure what flowers, because it doesn’t have a distinct rose taste or anything, it just tastes like flowers! It’s…sort of nice…It’s a light, fresh tea that really is kind of wonderful…

Imagine you’ve gone skiing for the day. The air is crisp and cold, the snow falls all around you, and by the end of your skiing escapade, you feel like you’ve living in a snow globe, but are completely delighted by winter. You retire to your ski lodge, take off all your wet gear, and get ready to curl up on the sofa in your Irish wool sweater. But, before you do, you start a nice warm, roaring fire in the lodge’s old fireplace to warm yourself and get the feeling back in your cheeks.

This is what this tea tastes like. The smokeiness is lovely and rich, it isn’t stale and ‘ash’-like which is my problem with so many smoky teas. The spices and other flavours in the tea round it out to create a very unique flavour that warms your senses as well as your insides.

One of the girls at the David’s tea near my house simply raves about this tea. It was her all time favorite, but at the limited edition holiday tea for 2009, I didn’t think I’d get the chance to ever try it. But! They brought it back!!

This tea actually glitters. The little gold balls in the tea dissolve, and actually make the tea shimmer! It’s the best!

As for taste—it’s a very simple cinnamon black, which I find just perfect for drinking on cold winter day. It warms one up like a cup of hot chocolate! It’s not overpoweringly cinnamon, and there are little silver sugar crystals in it so it doesn’t need to be sweetened at all.

I’m a big fan and plan to stock up before it disappears again!

Preparation

LiberTEAS was my secret santa for Steepster’s Secret Santa exchange this year, so I received the most amazing present willed with all sorts of tea samples and blends! I just wish that I could stay home from work for a few weeks and lock myself in my bedroom with my kettle; not coming out until I’ve tried them all.

I started with this one! I this morning was a flavoured black morning and with a title like ‘Breakfast in Bed’ is was practically irresistible. And let me tell you something, dear readers, the tea is as irresistible as the name!

I’ve never had a rose tea quite like this before. The smell of the tea is mostly vanilla and the rose flavour is so delicate. I’m always a bit afraid that flower teas’ll end up tasting like I’m drinking hot perfume (with milk) but this was amazing! The rose and vanilla tastes completely compliment each other and the cinnamon is like a little cherry on top to complete the trifecta of awesomeness.

Profile

Bio

Hello, Steepster!

I’m a twenty-something who attends Concordia University studying English Lit and Irish Studies. I also work at an online store that sells party supplies and costumes! My life is literally a party everyday!

Besides my work/school I’m also a comic book lover. I love attending conventions and have, in the past, done so in costume! (In 2009 it was Sally Jupiter). I also co-author a web comic called Abe and Kroenen and plan on being the author for a couple more upcoming projects. You can check those all out on my website/blog if you’re interested!

Now! About tea!

Formerly an avid coffee drinker I realised that 1. I didn’t really like the taste and 2. I really wasn’t ever getting enough sleep. The switch to tea was, at first, a painful one as extensively my knowledge of tea reached only so far as what was available at Tim Hortons and what my grandmothers kept in their cupboards.

I had a roommate, however, that never drank coffee—and slowly but surely I found myself converted. Then, just last summer, I stumbled upon DavidsTea and my life was changed forever.

Besides David’s, I also visit Teaopia whenever I’m back in Ontario, I’ve recently uncovered Camellia Sinensis in Montreal and new place that I’m yet to try—Milly’s Boutique!

I’m also a strong believer in Twinings and The Stash Company, and I’ve recently ordered some teas from 52teas, The Republic of Tea and Andrews & Dunham and I’m eagerly awaiting their arrival!

P.S. I love to write, and I love tea so expect me to chatter about in my reviews quite a bit!